High definition (HD) television and video renders to a viewer high contrast and fine detailed images in high resolution. The differences between standard definition and HD are so visually apparent that the demand for display devices that have larger screen sizes and higher pixel densities will only continue.
However, increasing screen size and increasing pixel density exponentially increases the prices of display devices made of conventional monolithic display technologies. Conventional monolithic display technologies utilize a single panel (or chip, etc.), which is responsible for the image the user sees. These characteristics make fabricating large sized displays very tedious and their price extremely high. Modular display devices can decrease the expense of large sized display screens. A modular display device tiles many small panel displays together to form a single large display. Failure of a pixel in a modular display affects only the module that it belongs to, while a failure of a pixel in a monolithic display affects the entire display.
Modular display devices can solve other limitations of large sized monolithic displays. In particular, pixels can be addressed in an efficient fashion at a modular level. In a modular display, a controller can determine which modules need their data updated based on the sending of a new image. Rather than repainting all of the pixels as would be done in a monolithic display, only those modules that need updating will be repainted. Therefore, a modular display would require a reduced bandwidth and simplified circuitry compared to a monolithic display.
One problem that has prevented commercialization of the modular display is creating an image that flows seamlessly across the different modules. Although software has been used to blend the seams and make the screen look uniform, there are limitations in the display technologies available for modularizing. Some limitations include light efficiency, contrast, cost and scalability.
Example types of display technologies include transmissive, reflective and emissive displays. Emissive displays, except for plasma displays, are generally made of unstable materials that have short lives and/or poor color quality. Plasma displays have very large pixels, which can not be scaled down for large pixel density displays. Some reflective displays use ambient light, a very efficient light source, but fail to produce high contrast and full color images. Other reflective displays use MEMS chips, an expensive light source and a projection screen. However, these displays are too expensive for modular fabrication. Transmissive displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), have extremely low light efficiency. When modularizing LCD displays, the modular display renders even more decreased light efficiency and contrast. Other types of transmissive displays also have very low contrast and color quality or are difficult to control.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.